The Flower Girl
by PalleteRider
Summary: (Set one year after Dad's Dungeon - diverted from canon after that episode, which means Incendium and afterwards doesn't happen) Finn and Jake are on a quest to find an elusive flower, in a faraway forest from their home. During their search, the two brothers stumbled upon a small girl. And their life soon change when the two brothers took her under their wings. Rated T


**Hello readers! It's been a while Recently, I only been working on one-shots but ideas have been kicking up lately and I got back to writing long stories like this one, at least how I planned it. I got into Adventure Time a few months (around 2 or 3) ago; it is awesome! So here's my first Adventure Time fic. Hope you guys will enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the original characters I put in the story. Adventure Time belongs to Pendleton Ward and Cartoon Network.**

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**Chapter 1: The Girl**

You may recognize this place. You'll definitely remember its name: the Land of OOO, and it was late in the evening. Over the horizon, the sun was sinking. Distant mountains etched themselves onto the sun's face as it descended. The orange skies gradually turned blue as twilight crept in. And it was like that for a while. Then the sun was gone and darkness fell. The night sky that stretched as far as eyes could see was speckled by bright beautiful stars – some were brighter than others. Silence hung on the forest clearing. It was like that for a while, with nothing but the sounds of rustling trees and the chirp of crickets.

It was on that night that Finn and Jake were out camping. The two brothers huddled close to the campfire, roasting a sausage on a stick that happened to be their dinner for tonight. Scarlet light danced over their skin, and so did the shadows behind them. While Finn twirled the stick – making the flame roast the other side of his sausage – he took a moment to look up ahead. He saw the moon shining radiantly on the unseen horizon, the branches of trees choking the moonlight that shone through the dark valley of the forest. Then he looked back to the sausage: it was all red and juicy now.

"I think it's done! Pass me the bread," Finn asked.

"Here," Jake passed the bread. Finn took the sausage off the stick and quickly slapped it onto the bread, taking care not to burn his fingers from the heat of the wiener. He squirted some softie cheese onto his hotdog before passing it to Jake. Finn brought the hotdog closer to his mouth and took a bite. The feeling of meat and cheese melting together in his mouth was a good sensation, not heavenly but certainly adequate. With no further delay, the two brothers finished their dinner, cleaned up, and went to their tents.

**~…~**

Finn blinked and blinked, and blinked. Every time he blinked, he felt his eyes sting. Next to his tent was Jake in his own tent, sleeping soundly like always. He could hear the crickets chirping their melodious tune into the night outside, but that wasn't the problem. He just couldn't sleep; so he blinked again. He was optimistic about tomorrow – venturing through the forest that was new to him and (possibly) fighting the evil things that got in their way – and couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive. Yeah, he was pretty excited.

In another attempt to sleep, Finn tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. He stopped on his side and slowly closed his eyelids, ignoring the stinging in his eyes….before he let out an exasperated sigh. For a moment, he just stared at the tent's ceiling, watching the shadows of the trees dance to the flow of a passing breeze. Deciding to try again, he closed his eyelids, passively ignoring the pain of his eyes. He let his mind loose, hoping for it to rest. But then images of various random things listlessly rose up from the depths of his unconsciousness, popping up behind his eyelids. One of those images was the smiling face of the Candy Kingdom's princess. A sigh escaped from his mouth, his cheeks reddening slightly.

It was then that he remembered what he was supposed to do tomorrow, the reason he and Jake had to have a camp out tonight:

"_What do you think I should get for PB's birthday?" _

_Finn was playing a game of Adventure Quest on Beemo, while Jake just sat next to the boy, reading a magazine. _

"_I don't know. Maybe something nice? Something she likes?"_

_Finn paused. Now that he thought about it, Bubblegum liked anything pink and anything science-y, as long as it wasn't too dangerous. He recalled the time he gave (or rather wanted to give) the princess a miniature replica of the candy kingdom made out of his spit for her science barbeque. But then he sneezed and ended up ruining his sculpture, leaving only the pink tray that was the base. Of course, Bubblegum mistook the pink tray as the actual gift. And she liked it because it was pink._

"_Well, she likes pink, and she likes anything to do with science…..hmm…." Despite thinking hard, his mind vine was fruitless. Then, a tiny thought came to Finn's mind. "Maybe we could ask Choose Goose for ideas." _

_So that was that. Finn and Jake went to Choose Goose's shack to buy Bubblegum a gift, but they ended up not buying anything since nothing the merchant sold fit Finn's description for the princess' gift, and most were too expensive. However, the merchant was generous enough to give the two adventurers a map that would lead them to a special flower somewhere in a forest in the north._

_Finn, naturally, thought it was a dumb idea; why would he and Jake embark on a quest for a flower? But Choose Goose explained that the flower was special; it had special healing powers. This made the boy reconsider his thoughts. That kind of flower would be perfect for the candy princess!_

So here they were, camping in a forest, waiting for tomorrow to come. Then his thoughts went back to Bubblegum.

"I wonder what she's doing right now?" Finn said to himself. "It's been a while since I saw her…"

Now that he thought about it, it was indeed a long time. The last time was that time he rescued her from the Ice King's clutches, and of course she congratulated him for his heroic feat, like usual. That was the last time he saw her, that was the last time he spoken to the candy princess. Nowadays, nothing; not a strain of that bubblegum hair, not an earful of that sweet voice, not a sight of her tall, voluptuous figure…

With a fierce shake of the head, Finn forcefully removed the dishonourable image of the princess from his mind, his face flushed with heat. How could he? What made him paint such a depiction of the princess in his mind? Was it his hormones again? A yawn interrupted his guilt. There's no use thinking about it now, he happily thought. His eyes drooped halfway, the stress of those questions receding from his mind, easing him to sleep. With another yawn, he rested his head on the soft pillow…and succumbed to slumber.

**~…~**

Finn dreamed – dreamed that he was in the Candy Kingdom, somewhere in town on the peanut brittle road. The warm air wafted the sticky smell of sugary sweets over him. From the sun's position in the sky, it had to be some time in the afternoon. The candy people were up and about as the town was booming with life.

"_Finn…_"

"Huh?" Finn looked around. Was there someone calling him?

"_Finn…_." The voice called out again, this time louder.

The boy looked around again. "Who's calling me?", he asked. But the candy people just walked past without a single glance or wave. It was like he wasn't there, like they couldn't see him. Or both. He looked forward again and with surprise, he found himself within the castle's hallway. It was a bit musty, but the scent of the sugary road lingered around Finn's shirt.

"What the….How did I get here?" He asked to nobody in particular. "Hello?" He cried out but his cry continued to echo along the empty hallway. He walked on, making his way through the red carpeted hallway, crying out for anyone that could hear him. Still no response. Just echoes of his own voice. A sudden pang of uneasiness swept through him; he felt like someone was watching him.

_Where is everyone?_ He thought. Seems like he was alone in the castle…

Somewhere, in front of him, a creak echoed – the sound of a door opening slowly. Quickly, the boy crossed the hallway, made his way around the corner and stopped right in front of a room with a slightly opened door. Finn halted, unsure whether he should check inside. He knew who the room belonged to: Princess Bubblegum. But curiosity got the better of him. He stepped through the door and entered the princess' private quarters. Once inside, he heard the door slam shut and the latch turning with a click. Finn turned the knob, but found that it wouldn't budge. He was locked in. Turning back around to survey his new environment, what he first saw filled him with sudden surprise, and made him scream girlishly. Someone or something was looking at him from the shadows, the being's silhouette outlined by the sunlight from the open window.

He was about to draw his sword when he saw the silhouette approaching him. He only caught himself when he realized who it was.

"PB?" Finn asked.

The feeling of joy surged throughout his body, his heart swelled up and his face burned with a slight blush.

"Finn!" Bubblegum said and gave him a hug. "You're back!"

"Uh..back? From where?" Finn was obviously confused.

She giggled. "Don't be silly, Finn…"

"But – " Finn was cut off as Bubblegum put her finger on his lips as she shushed him. The close contact made him blush harder. She then cupped his face and….kissed him, right on the lips.

That was it. Finn felt his body burning up, his vision becoming blurry…

**~…~**

…and he woke, bolting upright inside his tent. Some strands of his hair escaped from within his bear hat and dropped down across his face. (They had grown a lot since last year). He pushed them back in, feeling the sweat on his forehead. Peeking outside the tent, he saw Jake by the campfire. In an instant, the smell of cooked meat entered his nostrils. He moved out and wordlessly joined Jake for breakfast.

He thought about it – _really_ thought about telling Jake the dream he had. The moment Bubblegum hugged him, the moment Bubblegum kissed him right on the lips. Finn quickly shook his head. He felt his face burning up. What made him have that kind of dream? Was it his hormones again? Whatever the cause was, at least for the time being, he wanted to ponder these things alone.

As the sun rose, the two brothers quickly ate their breakfast, packed up their gear and made their move.

A piece of paper, yellow and worn out, stretched open between Jake's hands. The words "Forest Of Serenity" was printed on the top. Said map felt fragile in the dog's hands; feeling as if it could tear if he wasn't careful with it. Their feet crunched over gravel as he and Finn walked through the path in the forest. Many trees shaded their way with spots of green-gold forest light running across them as they moved. True to its name, the forest was serene. You could picture it even if you didn't know it; a calm, peaceful forest, with the sounds of chirping birds and the trees slowly being roused by the brushes of the subtle, passing breeze.

Jake halted and Finn did the same. The path had led them to a clearing. The line of trees (the ones on their side) died down as they reached a wall of rocks. A stream of water flowed down, forming a small pool at the base of the rocky wall.

"Jake, are you sure we're going the right way?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, the map shows the path will lead us here…..and then…hmm" Jake leaned in to take a closer look at the map, squinting his eyes to see any possible small details he might have missed. From over his shoulder, his human brother perched, looking at the map as well. On said map, they looked at the dotted lines that twist and turned through the illustrations of the forest that ended up stopping in front of the wall of rocks. Taking a closer look, the two saw the lines stopped at what appeared to be a mouth of a cave. They looked back at the map and the real thing back to and fro….and finally found it. Thick vines, wild and map-defying, had tangled downwards from the rocky well, covering the cave's entrance.

Pulling out his sword forged from a demon's blood, Finn cut the vines. They dropped down to the ground lightly like feathers. Bracing themselves, the two entered the cave. While it was dark, just enough sunlight entered from the cave's entrance for them to see by. The air smelled peaty and moist. It was the kind of smell you would expect from a damp, cold and dark cave. Droplets of water fell to the wet ground around them.

Finn and Jake advanced further. The boy's sword – clutched firmly in his right hand's grip – danced, following his even steps. They walked carefully, trying to stop themselves from slipping. As they got deeper into the cave, they noticed their surroundings were just a little brighter than before. Ahead of them, they could make out patches of sunlight on the ground, spilling through the holes in the cave's ceiling. In that moment, a strange notion crept into Finn's mind.

"Hey Jake," Finn said, "Don't you think this was a little bit too easy?"

Jake looked away from the map and turned to Finn, "What do you mean?"

"Like, shouldn't this cave be filled with evil creatures or something?" The boy said it like it was the most obvious thing in all of OOO.

"You got a point there, but" -Jake looked back at the map- "I don't think anyone would live in here. It's too damp and icky. And cold." He shuddered slightly.

"I guess you're right." But Finn kept his guard. He clenched his sword's hilt tight as his eyes were caught by something on his right. It led to the earthy wall of the cave, but he couldn't make out what it was- not enough light reached that part of the cave.

"Hey Jake, check that out."

"Hmm…?"

Upon closer look, the thing turned out to be a flower. It was white as a winter day under a November sky, with its bright petals overlapping one another like a white rose. Its stem held the flower up like a pole, growing straight out of the ground. A pleasing fragrance wafted up from the plant, and taking a whiff, the two felt slightly rejuvenated.

"So, this is it?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, seems like it," Jake looked over at an illustration of the flower and it matched exactly.

**~…~**

From behind them, only deadened by the distance, a terrified scream echoed.

"Did you heard that, bro?" Jake asked.

Finn nodded and said "Come on." You didn't need to tell him twice anymore. By now, he knew the sound of someone crying for help when he heard one.

The two saw nobody as they rushed out of the cave, but they could hear sobbing coming from a nearby bush. Behind said bush was a small person on the ground – a crying little girl pulling her legs to her chest with her head between her knees. A ruby cloak covered her entire frame, ending halfway down her body. Wild and dishevelled vines spilled out of the cloak's hood, both down towards her wet cheeks and her back, growing from somewhere near her head.

She stopped as she gazed up through her unruly vines, finally noticing the presence of the two newcomers. And the two got a better look at her. The vines that they saw earlier were indeed her _hair_, growing from her head wildly. Underneath that; under the cloak's hood and all that hair was her face – green, round and soft – and her cheeks were red from all that crying. Her eyes were brown, like small hazelnuts. She backed away, badly startled.

"Hey, you alright?" Finn asked, crouching to the small figure.

The girl opened her mouth, her lips moved, but the sounds that came out were nothing more than soft murmuring and sniffles.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that –

Then there came another sound. Hissing. Finn, Jake and the girl turned and stared across the clearing where the sound came from, eyes wide, senses alert. Standing there was the biggest snake they'd ever laid their eyes on. The serpent's long, blue tongue stuck out as it hissed.

The girl got on her feet within seconds, and quickly ran behind Finn's back – her small figure barely reaching Finn's waist. The boy gripped his sword tight on the hilt. But then he glanced back at the girl.

Stand or run? This girl was really afraid of the snake, which meant he had to protect her. That's what heroes do. Fight and protect, no exceptions. But Finn didn't ponder this question any further. The thing was not only huge but fast too. Bloody fast. It was slithering towards them, eyes fixed on its targets and mouth wide open, revealing two rows of saw-like teeth inside.

"Hold on!" Using his magic powers, Jake stretched his arms and grabbed Finn and the girl, holding them up in the air. He then grew to gigantic size, got on all fours and put the two on his back. "That was close." Jake said as the serpent smacked against the rock wall. But it didn't give up just yet. No. It faced towards Jake with its mouth opened, and let out a spray of green liquid. The dog yelped in pain as the liquid came in contact with his skin. And that made him lose his balance. Fortunately, Jake managed to envelop everyone with his body, breaking their fall. When Jake released them, Finn quickly charged forward with a battle cry. The snake charged as well, opening it's mouth as it went, attempting to devour the human.

When the two closed in on each other, Finn jumped, his sword already in motion as gravity pulled him back down. Once he got close, he let loose his sword, narrowly avoiding the snake's attempt to crunch him. It whistled to his target, guided by the fierce desire that it should fly true….and the blade struck the creature's neck, slicing its head off clean. A shriek escaped from the creature, but it died down quickly. The head toppled off like a bag of meat, its body hitting the ground a second later.

By the time the creature laid still, Jake was by Finn's side along with the girl.

"That was hardcore, bro!"

"Haha! Yeah!" Finn got up and dusted himself off.

Finn then looked at down at her. While she had stopped crying, probably a while ago, he could still see the traces of her tears under the sunlight. So far the girl had been quiet. She just stood there, clutching her hood over face.

"You ok?" Finn went and checked up on her.

The girl gave a gentle nod.

"Can you tell us your name?' Jake asked.

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**More to come soon! Feedbacks are welcome!**

**R&R**


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